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The Newbery Award: 1922

Jan25

1922 Medal Winner: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (Liveright)
Honor Books:
The Great Quest by Charles Hawes (Little, Brown)
Cedric the Forester by Bernard Marshall (Appleton)
The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure by William Bowen (Macmillan)
The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (Macmillan)
The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs (Macmillan)

I searched for all these books using the handy WorldCat search box in the sidebar. The only ones that are readily available are the award winner for 1922, van Loon’s The Story of Mankind and The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum. I’m not going to bother with The Story of Mankind. I’ve looked at it before, back in library school, and it’s an outdated evolutionary tract. (“Then one day the great wonder happened. What had been dead, gave birth to life. The first living cell floated upon the waters of the sea.”) You can read it here if you’d like.

As for the other easily obtainable book, The Golden Fleece, I actually have a copy on my groaning bookshelves. You can also read it online here, with illustrations by Willy Pogany, the same artist who illustrated my favorite poetry book, by the way. So the Newbery Honor book I’ll be reading for the week of January 28-February 3 is The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum. I’l be trying to answer these questions as I read:

Is the language too archaic or difficult for children of 2007?

Would Karate Kid (age 9) enjoy reading this book with his dad? He and Engineer Husband are already reading King Arthur, but they’re about to finish that book.

Are there more modern versions of the Greek hero stories that would be better, or is Colum’s book the gold standard?

Why did the committee that chose the first Newbery Award winner also name Colum’s book as a runner-up? Would librarians choose this book for a Newbery Honor if it were published in 2007?
Until the 1970’s the Newbery committe named an award book and sometimes several “runners-up.” In 1971 the term “runners-up” was changed to “honor books,” and all the runners-up from previous years were also changed to honor books.

If you already know the answers to any of these questions, or if you have read Colum’s book and have comments, or if you’d like to read with me, leave a comment so I’ll know who’s interested.

For those who didn’t read my previous post, I’m going on a journey starting this week through the annals of the Newbery Award and Honor books for Distinguished Children’s Literature. I’m planning to read a Newbery Award or Honor book each week this year. You’re welcome to play along if you’d like. I’ll post my reactions and thoughts on Sunday night, February 4th.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Jan23

I watched the webcast of the ALA book awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott awards for 2007. I was inspired. I’ve wanted to go on a journey of my own for a long time through all the Newbery Award and Honor books, starting in 1922 when the Newbery Award was first given. I want to read all the books. I also want to think about how children’s literature has changed since 1922, how our tastes in children’s literature have changed, how many of the books are still worthwhile and accessible to today’s children and young adults.

SO this is the year I start my journey. My plan is to read one Newbery award or honor book each week. I’ll start as far back as I can, but many of the early award and especially the honor books are no longer in print and not available from the library. Each Thursday I’ll post the title of the Newbery book that I plan to read for the following week. If anyone wants to join me on my journey, you’ll have the weekend to get a copy of the book of the week and start reading. I plan to read many of these books with my children, so you’ll get their reactions and evaluations, too.

Then on Sunday evening I’ll post my thoughts on the Newbery Book of the Week. If you read any of the books, you are welcome to post your thoughts, too, and I’ll link to your post. Or you can leave your thoughts in the comments for all of us to read.

By the way, the winner of this year’s Newbery Award for Distinguished Children’s Literature is Susan Patron for The Higher Power of Lucky. It was nominated for the Cybil Award, and I already have a hold request on it at the library. But I haven’t read it.

Go here for a list of all the Newbery Award and Honor books.

Well, I haven’t conquered yet, but a journey starts with a single step—or book, as the case may be.

Newbery Predictions

Jan10

Franki at A Year of Reading invites readers and bloggers to predict the winner(s) of the Newbery Award and Newbery Honor books. I’m sure that, like Franki and Mary Lee, I will have no success at reading the minds of the Newbery committee members, but I’m probably more prepared to make a guess this year than I ever have been. Thanks to the Cybil awards process, I have actually read several books that were published in 2007. So here are my predictions:


1. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker. I thought this book was the best of all of the books I read that were nominated for the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Fiction. Unfortunately, it didn’t make the final cut for the Cybil award, so maybe I can send good vibes about it to the Newbery folks. I’ve only read about 17 of the Cybil nominees and dipped into 3 or 4 that I didn’t like enough to finish them. I did fall in love with Clementine. Oh my darling, oh my darling . . .


2. Alabama Moon by Watt Key. Even though I thought Alabama Moon was more appropriate for young adults (high school age and up) than for middle graders, I did like the book itself very much. Well-written story, interesting subject, good characterization —a good candidate for some award somewhere. Why not the Newbery?


3. Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata. I liked this book even though it wasn’t my favorite. I think the elite of the children’s literature world will love it. It’s multi-cultural; it’s anti-war; and it’s a good story. I suppose the only problem is that Cynthia Kadohata has already won the Newbery Award once, but it’s been awarded twice to the same author before. They could do it again.

4. Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. If funny books like Clementine don’t win the Newbery, if we have to have a Serious Subject, then Yellow Star is my personal favorite for the award. It’s deep, disturbing, with an interesting twist at the end that ties into the title, and it’s still accessible to children. My then-eleven year old read it and liked it and learned from it.


5. Rules by Cynthia Lord. This one’s a dark horse, first children’s book published by Ms. Lord, possible winner, IF the committee members appreciate the story of a girl growing up with an autistic brother and making friends with a severely handicapped young man in a wheelchair.

If The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak wins, I will resign myself to the idea that I just don’t get contemporary children’s literature and go back to my pet project of reading all the Newbery Award and Newbery Honor books of the twentieth century. If all the world proclaims that The Book Thief is the best book ever written, I will still say, “I just don’t get what all the fuss is about!” Death narrates a book about the Holocaust, indeed! Give me Yellow Star, a real Holocaust story sans the bizarre narrator.

OK, I just figured out that Marcus Zusak is an Australian and lives in Sydney, and the Newbery Award is only awarded to American citizens. Oh, well, I needed to get that rant off my chest anyway after seeing Death Takes a Holiday, aka The Book Thief on every blogger’s year-end list of favorites from here to Kalamazoo.

Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Aug16

If you’re interested in carrier pigeons, or pet birds, or India, or birds used in war, this Newbery award book from 1928 might just fit the bill. Yes, it’s somewhat dated in style and content. Yes, the first half of the book is a nature story reminiscent of Jean Craighead George’s books such as The Other Side of the Mountain, and the second half changes focus and deals with themes of fear, war, and religion. Yes, the narration jumps back and forth from the boy who owns and trains the pigeon to Gay-Neck himself telling his own story by means of “the grammar of fancy and the dictionary of imagination.” Yes, its audience would probably be limited, but I think there are some children and adults, especially nature lovers and bird lovers, who would really like this book.

Dhan Gopal Mukerji was born near Calcutta in 1890 and came to the United States at the age of nineteen. So, I’m fairly sure he gets the atmosphere of life for a boy in early twentieth century India. Mukerji wrote other nature stories, including Kari the Elephant and Hari the Jungle Lad. In Gay-Neck, Mukerji gives a lot of information about pigeons and about training pigeons, and he imparts that information by means of a fascinating story of the adventures of one particular pigeon, Gay-Neck or Chitra-griva.

The descriptions of the pigeons’ defense against their enemies, eagles and hawks, and of their capacity to deliver messages even in the midst of battle are detailed enough to make the reader feel as if he could go out, purchase a pigeon, and begin training tomorrow. And it sounds like fun. As an adult and a non-animal lover, I’m sure it’s not that simple, but don’t be surprised if a child, after reading this book, wants his own bird to train and watch and admire.

Gay-neck is admirable. Even when he gives in to fear after a deadly encounter with a predatory hawk, and again after his war experiences, Gay-Neck is able to make a comeback. “Love for his mate and the change of place and climate healed him of fear, that most fell disease.”

The story does take place in India, and it’s filled with lamas and monks and Hindu or Buddhist prayer and meditation. If that’s going to bother you or confuse your child, but you still want a book about training pigeons or about India, try something else. However, if you can appreciate the story as a picture of another place and another time, a vivid portrait of a boy and his pet bird, and a good imaginary tale of India and its culture and a childhood in the Indian countryside, you should enjoy this book

Gay-Neck is a good homeschool book. It would make a fun read aloud for children who haven’t been spoiled by too much action in TV and movies. Gay-Neck has lots of action, war and predators and natural disasters, but the reader or listener must have an imagination to appreciate the story. Gay-Neck would be good to read during a science study of birds or ecosystems, or as we’re doing, during a study of India and its culture. The boy in the story spends most of his time with his pigeons, caring for them and training them, and he learns a great deal about birds and about communication and about fear and courage. I can see a homeschooled child making the raising of pigeons a cross-curricular project and learning more than just how to train birds, too.

Finally, I leave you with a sample of Mukerji’s observations on nature, especially animal life:

I thought, “The buffalo that in nature looks healthy and silken, in a zoo is a mangy creature with matted mane and dirty skin. Can those who see buffalo in captivity ever conceive how beautiful they can be? What a pity that most young people instead of seeing one animal in nature–which is worth a hundred in any zoo–must derive their knowledge of God’s creatures from their appearance in prisons! If we cannot perceive any right proportion of man’s moral nature by looking at prisoners in a jail, how do we manage to think that we know all about an animal by gazing at him penned in a cage?”

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Aug3

I just finished this Newbery Honor book, and I loved it. Shannon Hale has a way with characters, plot and words. I wrote about another of her books, Goose Girl, here.

Princess Academy is the story of a group of uneducated mountain girls who are chosen to attend the Princess Academy. One of the girls will be chosen to marry the Prince and become the new Princess of Danland. Miri, the central character of the novel, is not sure she even wants to become the princess, but she does want to learn and excel at the academy. And she does want to do something extraordinary to prove to her village and to her Pa that she is not useless even though she is not allowed to work in quarry with the rest of the villagers.

There are some fairy tale elements to this story, but mostly it’s a story about teenage girls thrown into a challenging situation, about they cope with adversity, about how they relate to one another, about their growth from children into adults. I looked immediately after I finished the book to see if Miri was on JKR’s list of Cool Girls of Children’s Literature. She was, of course. Miri is definitely “smart, brave, funny, and independent.’ However, she does have some growing up to do in this book, some decisions to make, and an important realization to attain.

Have all the girls in your life read this book. Some of the boys might enjoy it, too. Read it yourself for a dose of growing up realism in the midst of fairyland. I think this book should have won the Newbery Award instead of being a runner-up, but it wins my award for 2005 anyway.

This book can be borrowed by member families from Meriadoc Homeschool Library.

Summer Reading Challenge

May24

I’m quite fond of setting goals and making lists and formulating plans —even though I don’t follow through very well. So when I found Amanda’s Summer Reading Challenge, I joined up immediately. Here are my summer reading goals:

1. Read 10 Newbery Award or Newbery Honor books that I’ve not read before.

2. Re-read five books from my (college) Advanced Reading Survey course, and post about them here.

3. Read as many of the books that I bought at the used book sale as I can.

4. Read at least three of the books from the list I gave my AP US history students, three that I’ve not already read. Here’s the list I gave my students. They’re supposed to choose one to read over the summer.

Foster, Genevieve. The World of Columbus and Sons.
Bradford, William. The History of Plymouth Plantation.
Edwards, Jonathan. Personal Narrative.
Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere and the World He Lived In.
Marrin, Albert. The War for Independence.
Bowen, Carolyn Drinker. Miracle in Philadelphia
Ambrose, Stephen. Undaunted Courage.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America
Ambrose, Stephen. Nothing Like It In the World.
Douglass, Frederick. Life of an American Slave.
Blumberg, Rhoda. Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun.
McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom.
Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels.
Oates, Stephen B. With Malice Toward None.
Stone, Irving. Men To Match My Mountains.
Addams, Jane. Twenty Years at Hull House.
Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives.
Strasser, Susan. Never Done.
Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery.
Terkel. Studs. Hard Times.
Ambrose, Stephen, Band of Brothers.
Houston, Jeanne. Farewell to Manzanar
Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize.
Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcom X.
Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage.
Lewis, Anthony. Gideon’s Trumpet.
Colson, Chuck. Born Again.
Bernstein, Carl and Robert Woodward. All the President’s Men.

I’ve already read the ones in bold print. Any suggestions for which US history books I should start with? Do you have any suggestions for which Newbery Award books I should not miss? I’ve actually read a lot of those.

If you’re having trouble setting your own reading goals for the summer, Amanda also has a few suggestions for you.

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 14th

Feb14

George Washington Gale Ferris, b. 1859. Mr. Ferris is remembered for his invention of the Ferris wheel. It was the main attraction for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (The World’s Fair). Read a fictional account of Ferris’s Folly, as it was called by many people, in Robert Lawson’s Newbery Honor book, The Great Wheel.

George Jean Nathan, b. 1882. Respected, and feared, American drama critic of the first half of the twentieth century. He was described as “savage” and “independent” in his criticism. Quotes:
“It is also said of me that I now and then contradict myself. Yes, I improve wonderfully as time goes on.” (May I always be unafraid to contradict myself when the I see that I’ve been mistaken.)
“Hollywood is ten million dollars worth of intricate and high ingenious machinery functioning elaborately to put skin on baloney.” (The price has gone up; the product is much the same.)
“He writes his plays for the ages – the ages between five and twelve.” (An example, I assume, of Nathan’s fearsome wit and what he called “destructive” criticism.)

Newbery Award, 2006

Jan26

Newbery Medal 2006: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. Sequel to Perkins’ debut novel All Alone in the Universe. This one is described in various places as “poetic”, “Zen-like”, “lyrical”, and “experimental”. With those kinds of descriptors it could either be very good or very bad.

Newbery Honor Books:

Whittington by Alan Armstrong. It’s about Dick Whittington (Lord Mayor of London) and about a boy named Ben who is dyslexic. Sounds appealing.

Hitler’s Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Nonfiction. I’ve seen this book recommended here and there. If you’re interested in this subject, I’d suggest an old book, but a good one: Hansi, the Girl Who Left the Swastika by Maria Anne Hirschmann. It’s the true story of a member of the Hitler Youth who becomes disillusioned with the promises of Hitler and the Nazis, becomes a Christian and later immigrates with her family to the United States.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. This selection is the only one of this year’s Newbery books that I can say anything about, and not because I’ve read it. I haven’t read any of these. However, I did read Shannon Hale’s Goose Girl and liked it very much.

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson. Also nonfiction(?). Woodson tells the history of the women of her family from slavery through today and also the history of her family’s “show way” quilts. HornBook says the book has a “patchwork motif.”

Here’s a list of all the Newbery Medalists since 1922.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Jan10

Our read aloud book for December and so far into January was this survival-in-the-wilderness book by Newbery award winning author Jean Craighead George. Here are the views of two of the urchins on the book:

Review by Brown Bear Daughter (Age Eleven)
Book: My Side of the Mountain

Author: Jean Craighead George

Summary: It is about young Sam Gribley, tired of city life, who moves into the Catskill Mountains. He trains his own falcon, builds his own house, and finds his own food.

Review: I�d give this book, on a scale from 1 to 10, an 8. Although, in my opinion, the ending was disappointing, the rest of the book was very well written and I liked it a lot. This book is a Newberry Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book.

Review by Karate Kid (Age Eight)
What the book was about: The book was about a boy named Sam Gribley. He ran away from home to the Catskill Mountains. At the beginning of the story, it tells what’s happening right then. He’s in a big snowstorm. But before you get to hear about that, he tells all about how he got into the big snowstorm.

What I liked about this book: I like the idea of living in a tree. I’d like to have a trained falcon.

What I don’t like about this book: I didn’t like the part where everybody keeps on finding him. I wish he’d still get to live in the tree in hammocks.

So there you have it: two reviews by two impartial reviewers. I think Brown Bear Daughter liked it anyway. She’s already reading the sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain.

Jean Craighead George Website
CyberGuide Unit Study on My SIde of the Mountain
Peregrine Falcon Nest Webcam NOTE: there’s nothing going on now. Nesting season is from March to June. Check back then.
More links to teaching resources on the web for this book

Christmas Dinner: December 25, 195?

Dec4

It was Christmas when we awoke. Breakfast was light–acorn pancakes, jam, and sassafras tea. Bando went for a walk. I lit the fire in the fireplace and spent the morning creating a feast from the wilderness.

Bando rinsed Dad’s soup bowl in the snow, and with great ceremony and elegance–he could really be elegant when the occasion arose–poured him a turtle shell of sassafras tea. Quoting a passage from one of Dickens’s food-eating scenes, he carved the blackened steak. It was pink and juicy inside. Cooked to perfection. We were all proud of it. Dad had to finish his tea before he could eat. I was short on bowls. Then I filled his shell. A mound of sort of fluffy mashed cattail tubers, mushrooms, and dogtooth violet bulbs, smothered in gravy thickened with acorn powder. Each plate had a pile of soaked and stewed honey locust beans–mixed with hickory nuts. The beans are so hard it took three days to soak them.
It was glorious feast. Everyone was impressed, including me.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

We’re currently reading this Newbery Honor Book for our read aloud time. Did you know that E.P. Dutton (publishers) initially refused to publish Ms. George’s story of a boy who leaves home to live off the land in the Catskill Mountains because they were afraid it would encourage children to run away from home?